UK Government Deems Tourist Destinations In Egypt Safe

After the recent terrorist attacks in North Sinai, allegedly administered by Sinai Province, an IS-affiliate militant group, many popular tourist destinations have increased their security measures in Egypt.

Sharm El Sheikh in South Sinai, which lies around 400 km away from Sheikh Zuweid where the recent attacks took place, has tightened its security. Other cities, such as Hurghada in the Red Sea governorate, have done the same.

Despite the turbulence which the tourism sector has witnessed in Egypt along the past few years, it has been recorded that over 900,000 British nationals visit Egypt annually creating estimate revenue of approximately $3.7 billion. “Most visits are trouble-free,” the UK Government officially stated.

In light the militant attacks, the UK Government advised its citizens against all travel to North Sinai in an official statement released on Friday. Nevertheless, the warnings did not include the tourist areas along the Nile, such Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings, or the Red Sea Resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada.

The Foreign Office in Britain reported an increase in security measures and added that “Security forces are situated at the international airports, at check points around the perimeter of the towns and throughout the Governorates.”

“Routine security checks are being performed on entry into the airport and the police are carrying out vehicle checks in the towns.”

However, Britons have been deeply shaken by other terrorist attacks across the Middle East, especially the Sousse attack in Tunisia which resulted in the death of at least 37 tourists, most of whom were British.

Entertainer at a Red Sea resort pointing a fake gun at British tourist days after the Sousse attack in Tunisia. Credit: Paul Dodkin

Shamefully, only days after the attacks in Tunisia, a hotel entertainer at an Egyptian Red Sea resort was witnessed pointing a fake gun at British tourists on the beach.

The act was apparently based on a skit from a James Bond film with the man wearing a tuxedo as he attempted to scare the tourists.

Paul Dodkin, a British tourist who took photos of the incident, told the Daily Mail that he was “disgusted” at the act, which is believed to have taken place more than once.

The British foreign office will always label Sharm as a safe destination for British tourists, regardless if any terrorist attacks take place there or not, as the British government does not want to harm the interests of any of the large British tour operators, such as Thomson, Thomas Cook etc etc

That is why, despite this tragic and horrible terrorist attack in Sousse, which comes just three months after a similar, horrific terror attack in Tunis, just 150 km away, and 20 months after a suicide bomber blew himself up on a beach in Sousse, ( in other words, three attacks aimed at foreign tourists in a relatively small area in less than two years ), the British government still does not advise against travelling to Sousse !!!

And yet, the British government advises against all non-essential travel to the destinations of Dahab and Nuweiba – despite those two areas not having suffered from any terrorist attacks since almost ten years and despite them both being far safer than many other parts of Egypt and even Europe !!!

Joan Verhees

your claim that uk government dont issues warnings to protect tour operators is ludicrous. we have had warnings and uk govt take ant threat very seriously ive been to egypt many times since the revolution and have seen just how much security is taken seriously by the egyptian govt i have never ever felt at risk even straight after revolution. i will continue to goto egypt and enjoy all it has to offer and among some of the most warm hearted people in the world.

marion tarry

Joan, I couldn’t agree with you more. I love Egypt and it’s people and nothing will stop me visiting as often as I can. I feel better cared for there than I do in England.

Joan Verhees

yes marion its a wonderful country and i look on it as my second home and some of the egyptians are like part of my family now and im part of their families

Blue Beard

You’ve misunderstood the point. Dahab and Nuweiba have had no attacks and no threats, yet they are deemed unsafe, when we know they are safe. Tunisia has had 3 attacks and tourists have been killed, yet it is listed as safe.
There is something going on that has nothing to do with safety. How are Dahab and Nuweiba less safe than Tunis or Sousse?

Joan Verhees

maybe its intelligence theyve got. and to say uk have nefarious reasons for not issuing warnings about sharm is stupid its not about vested interests i believe most travel companies in uk are foreign owned for a start and uk would be in real trouble if anything happened

Blue Beard

Please read what is being said. Nobody is saying Sharm isn’t safe. Please stop referring to Sharm.
What intelligence can there be of an attack to Dahab or Nuweiba when the travel warning has been in place for a year and yet nothing has happened?
Why did Tunisia have to have 3 attacks before a travel warning was issued? Hardly the same rules being applied.

Blue Beard

Tunisia had an attack that killed many tourists and the FO said another attack was likely, yet put no travel warning. 2 weeks later, about the length of a package holiday, they change their minds and say it is no longer safe. And you don’t suppose they were giving travel firms a chance to minimise their exposure and let customers cancel rather than being obliged to offer them alternatives for free?
No-one is talking about Sharm being a danger. We’re asking why places just outside of Sharm are a risk when nothing has happened. Are they trying to concentrate the people in Sharm for more profit? Is it a sanction against Egypt, while not trying to break them?

Nuweiba

Sorry to say but it definitely has nothing to do with intelligence. We were in contact with the Travel Advice Team and they claimed that but backed down when we challenged them on that point. They had claimed that their sources were the Egyptian authorities, who were horrified by such claims, and people “in the area” they had contacted, but who mysteriously disappeared when we proved that also to be false.

We stand by our claims that the travel advice is strongly influenced by the interests of UK tour operators. In 2004, there were several large UK tour operators serving the area of Taba and Nuweiba : notably First Choice, Thomsons and Thomas Cook, ( and smaller companies such as Libra, Longwood and Peltours ). After the twin bomb attacks in the Taba area in October 2004, the FCO did not change their travel advice. The following year in July, there were twin bomb attacks in Sharm – but again no change in the travel advice status. Nine months later, further attacks in Dahab… and still no reaction. Total fatalities ? Almost 200 !

Eight years later, no MAJOR UK tour operator serving Taba and Nuweiba, a small bomb attack near the Taba-Eilat border with 4 fatalities and the FCO change the status of the whole of Sinai to Amber – except for Sharm as that is an important destination for the big boys !!

And no pleading by Egyptians and British visiting and living in Dahab and Nuweiba will persuade the Travel Advice Team to change their mind… because it simply is not important.

No… we stand by our claims ! The UK Government is more concerned with the interests of large British corporations, ( it does not matter who the shareholders are – the fact is that they are based in the UK, pay UK taxes and employ thousands of British citizens ), than the safety or otherwise of individual British citizens.

And Sousse is the final proof ! Sousse should have been in the Amber status and Dahab and Nuweiba green… and many British lives would have been saved !!!!

Farrah El Essawi studies Multimedia Journalism and Psychology at the American University in Cairo. She has always had a strong passion for social issues and animal rights and jumps at the opportunity to write about either.

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Egyptian Streets is an independent, young, and grass roots news media organization aimed at providing readers with an alternate depiction of events that occur on Egyptian and Middle Eastern streets, and to establish an engaging social platform for readers to discover and discuss the various issues that impact the region.